Le Vin Herbé 1-2 June

Peter Dijkstra is the Music director of the Swedish Radio Choir who has holded his position longest, second-hand the legendary Music director Eric Ericson. Now, the time has come for Dijkstra to step down from his 11-year mission – year´s that have meant a great development for the choir and brought a long series of successes, including internationally.

Le Vin Herbé, Frank Martin’s musical interpretation of the legend of Tristan and Isolde, is, in every way, a far cry from Wagner, but still in a league of its own; a human oratorio, an intimate and emotional story of love and death.

Martin himself called the piece, the chamber opera that is more influenced by Bach than Wagner, even if the background story is the same, a ‘human oratorio’. In spite of the small ensemble and a focus on storytelling rather than dramatisation, Martin’s setting of the medieval love story is just as strong and gripping. Here, Peter Dijkstra, who is himself a passionate fan of Frank Martin’s music, and the Swedish Radio Choir perform Le Vin Herbé in a concerto format, but don’t let that stop you from getting wrapped up in the immortal drama and the enchanting music.

Participants

The Swedish Radio Choir is like a leading mountaineer in the world of music. The choir’s chief conductor Peter Dijkstra has described the ensemble as “the group that leaves base camp first and stakes out the course for others to follow.” Three hundred years of Swedish a cappella tradition, combined with an ambitious and culturally diverse repertoire with some of the world’s finest conductors, has established the Swedish Radio Choir as one of the foremost ensembles of its kind. The 32 professional singers are as equally at home in completely new music by today’s most exciting composers as they are in classic favourites from the rich international treasure trove. Through the Swedish Radio’s broadcasts and website the choir not only reaches concert audiences but also radio listeners everywhere.